Saturday, January 11, 2014

TALKING ABOUT ARIZONA PROPERTIES & STUFF WITH JANNA & MIKE

On my desktop I have some weather gadgets & keep an eye on temps for a few places like Yuma, Ajo, Borrego Springs, Quartzsite, Prescott, Congress, Benson, & Bayfield. Yuma is generally the warmest with Bayfield of course generally being the coldest. Was surprised to see Congress was the warm spot this morning at 6 a.m. with 54F. Yuma came in a close second at 49F. Bayfield Ontario Canada was in a major heat with 42F & that was only 1 degree less than Quartzsite Arizona. In Ontario we generally call that the January thaw which usually occurs about the 3rd week of January each year. Should add that I sometimes question the accuracy of these desktop weather gadgets I have…………….

<<< DALLY CAN’T JUMP OVER THE FENCE SO SHE JUMPS STRAIGHT UP IN THE AIR

In less than a week we have company coming to stay with us for about 7 days. Kelly’s Brother Peter & wife Leslie were here last January as well. They will fly into Las Vegas, spend a few days exploring around that area then drive on down to Congress here. Pheebs & will move out to the rig again & give Leslie & Peter my big bedroom complete with washroom. We did that last year when they were here & also when Aunt Jean came out for awhile. Us guys like hanging out in the rig:))

When we bought our Congress house in March of 2012 there was no fence across the front or about half way up our south side. In effect we had two entrances making a circle driveway. When we put the new fence in along the south side we effectively closed off the second entrance figuring we wouldn’t need it. Well, we figured wrong & have been tossing the idea around of putting a second gate in that fence line making it easier not only for our rig but other larger rigs to enter & exit our large driveway area. Turning to enter or exit our main gate & having to stop & open the gate leaves part of our Jeep or rig hanging on the road. And when Doug & Dolly pulled in a few days ago with their larger Class C they had to unhook to get back out again. Well that speeded up our decision on a second gate & today Marteen the fellow who did all our fencing last year dropped by to have a look & give us a price on a second gate. We agreed on a price & he will be back next week to start on the new number 2 gate.

THIS IS OUR MAIN GATE

OUR 2ND GATE WILL GO IN HERE & BE ANGLED…PHOTO ON RIGHT SHOWS THE ANGLE WE & OTHERS WILL BE ABLE TO COME & GO WITHOUT UNHOOKING TRAILERS OR TOADS

WILL BE ABLE TO COME IN MAIN GATE AT LEFT & EXIT THROUGH 2ND GATE AT FAR END OR VICE VERSA

With company coming next week I figured I had better shovel some of the Sonoran desert out of the Jeep & get things all spiffy inside again in case the 4 of us decide on a little desert rumble. Took out Pheebs wood riding platform plus a whole bunch of other stuff & re-installed the back seat. Remember last year when we had to borrow Bev & Jim’s rear seat out of their Jeep.

BIG JEEP INTERIOR CLEAN UP TODAY

About the time I was cleaning things up this afternoon a little yellow Jeep rolled into our driveway. Yaaaaaay, it was JANNA & MIKE along with little Emmi.

We had us a walk around our property as well as the neighbor’s property I have been cleaning up. A tour through the house was followed by a chin wag on our sunny warm afternoon patio.

EMMI WANTS TO GET A GAME OF TOYS GOING

We have always had a lot in common with Janna & Mike. Mike & I were born one day apart, one year apart. Their future plans are much like ours & we talked about that today. In fact our talks may have lined up our next Winnie get-away at the end of this month. We may see Janna & Mike again next week but you never know with we boondocking types when our paths will cross again somewhere. And I’m thinking it might not be so much as to when, but as to where:))

THAT LITTLE EMMI GETS LOTS OF ATTENTION

<<< HEY MOM & DAD I LIKE THIS MONTANA COWBOY GUY

Got the Jeeps interior all put back together & stowed away. No point in wasting valuable energy units washing the Jeep because we’ll probably have it back out in the dusty desert before too long again anyway. Lots of time for all that washing & waxing stuff when we get back to Canada in the Spring. It will give me something to do instead of grumbling & complaining I don’t got nuthin ta do……………

GROANER’S CORNER:(( In Canada's Newfoundland the Newfies have finally solved their own fuel problems. They imported 50 million tons of sand from the Arabs and they are going to drill for their own oil. Those Newfies are pretty smart eh:))

------------------------------------------------------------- - Tourists see the world, travelers experience it. - Home is where your pet is:)) - "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans." (James Herriot) - The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward - The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL. - It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

7 comments:

Your place is becoming a social gathering spot for all to enjoy. It looks great, has good people and a great dog and those chairs look comfy also. Now a new gate for larger rigs will make the Bayfield Casa a must see when in Az. I hope to see you in March also, just for a pic with Al. Thanks for you comments on my blog.

Just wondering what ISO and shutter speed you use to get the stop action on the birds? Are you shooting through a window or outdoors? I'm having a little bit of a problem getting the right combination. Shooting through a window cuts down on the light and if I dial up the ISO then I get too much grain. I'm going to keep trying though!

My husband's always taken great pride in having shiny cleaned and waxed cars, that is until we got the Jeep! Our first trip a week after the purchase was Sedona. I don't have to tell you just how thick that layer of red dirt was. Needless to say, it has quite been squeaky clean since. Fifteen months of off road riding sure changed that.

Can't wait to someday meet Janna and Mike. They seem like terrific people.

AL'S CAMERA EQUIPMENT

A sometimes asked question readers have about my blog is what kind of a camera do I use. Well I have 8 of them and use them all. Five Nikon DSLR's, two quality Sony point and shoots plus one older Canon point and shoot.

'UPDATE':: July 2017 Thanks to a very generous blog reader I have been able to update my Nikon camera equipment and supplement my camera gear with a couple additional fine Sony cameras as well.I now have a 'donated' Nikon D7200 sporting my new Nikkor 18-300 3.5 zoom lens. Also have picked up a new Nikkor 1.8 primary 35mm lens. In addition I also now have a Sony RX100-3 camera as well as a Sony Exmore Cybershot. I have given my Canon Powershot point and shoot camera to a neighbor.

- In early 2017 I replaced my Nikon D-90 camera with a new D-3400 after the 'auto focus' feature on my aging D-90 quit working. The Nikon D-90 had been my work horse camera sporting a Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 lens. I used this camera for most of my landscapes and I now have it set up for night photography where 'auto focus' is not necessary.

-My older faithful and favorite Nikon D-40 finally packed it in during the summer of 2015 and I replaced it with a new Nikon D-3100.

- Previous to my Nikon D-90, most of my photos were taken with my old faithful Nikon D-50 from 2006 to early 2011 whereupon the D-50 suffered a rather gruesome death when it fell off a table onto a cement porch in southeastern Arizona. The 70-300mm lens on the camera survived the fall but the D-50 did not. My Nikkor lenses are interchangable between the D-90 the D-3100 and the D-3400.